Programming for Human Interactions

Most programmers, regardless of our discipline or focus of choice, have a shared set of skills that make us good at what we do. On the whole we're excellent problem solvers who aren't afraid of failure and we spend ample amounts of time researching our options before experimenting with different solutions. What if we applied these deductive skills to more difficult scenarios of human interaction, like code reviews and teamwork? Is it possible for us to learn how to become better humans from how we program? Can being better humans make us better at programming? Using the tactics familiar to us as programmers, I'll outline a programmatic approach for human interactions to help us win at both programming and people-ing.

Transcript

1. Programming for Human Interactions Liz Abinante @feministy • labinante@newrelic.com Senior Software Engineer • New Relic
2. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Why?
3. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF How can we use our programming skills to be better humans?
4. A brief story of two engineers
5. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Alice and Omar
6. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF They both join new teams at work.
7. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF 1 feels successful. 1 feels like a failure.
8. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF 1 feels successful. 1 feels like a failure.
9. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF 1 feels successful. 1 feels like a failure.
10. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF What was the difference?
13. Traits of good programmers
14. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF
15. Debugging
16. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Systematic, logical approach
17. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Reliable, flexible toolset
18. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Different environments or sandboxes
19. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF
20. Mental models of architecture
21. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Knowledge of data models
22. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Familiarity with the interactions between existing systems
23. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF
24. Structural knowledge of libraries and tools in their ecosystem
25. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Ability to evaluate tools objectively
26. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Knowing what role each piece plays
27. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Ability to find more information
28. Traits of good colleagues
29. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF
30. Emotional intelligence
31. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Intuition
32. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Empathy
33. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF
34. Approachable
35. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Good communication in various forms
36. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Responsive to queries
37. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Adaptable to different scenarios
38. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF
39. Willingness to share
40. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Learn new things to help themselves and others
41. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Share existing knowledge
42. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Encourage teamwork and even distribution of responsibility
43. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF
44. Interest in solving hard problems
45. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF …AS A TEAM
46. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Distill problems down to the basics
47. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Encourage collaborative solutions
48. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF What makes us good programmers also makes us good people.
49. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF What makes us good programmers also makes us good people. CAN ^ … if we try harder.
50. Building a human interface
51. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Common situations
52. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Common situations FRUSTRATING
53. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Code reviews Team projects Pairing
54. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF How can we use our dev skills to reduce frustration?
55. Debugging
56. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Systematic, logical approach work toward a solution, not away from a problem
57. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Systematic, logical approach evaluate the code, idea, or technology
58. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Systematic, logical approach … remember that a person wrote the code, shared the idea, or invented the tech
59. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Systematic, logical approach apply the same level of scrutiny to decisions, no matter whose idea it was
60. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Reliable toolset start with basic check ins and validations
61. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Reliable toolset expand using trial and error to produce a familiar set of techniques
62. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Reliable toolset revisit techniques and borrow from others
63. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Different environments or sandboxes different people respond to different techniques
64. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Different environments or sandboxes some situations are more difficult than others
65. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF ✨ ✨ emotional ✨ ✨ intelligence ✨ ✨
66. Mental models of architecture
67. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Knowledge of data models know a little about your teammates as people
68. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Knowledge of data models know their professional backgrounds and preferences
69. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Familiarity with existing systems know how your teammates work together, and alone
70. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Familiarity with existing systems recognize patterns and when something is out of sync
71. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF knowledge of data models
72. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF knowledge of HUMAN BEINGS
73. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF
74. Structural knowledge of libraries and tools in their ecosystem
75. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Ability to evaluate tools objectively discuss decisions and share strategy
76. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Ability to evaluate tools objectively explain thought process to an audience with different knowledge
77. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Knowing what role each piece plays encourage people to do the things they’re interested in but might not be good at
78. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Find more information ask questions about preferences, style, ideas
79. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF prove to me you got some communication
80. Final thoughts…
81. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Expertise with technology and people both take time
82. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF … they also take patience and effort
83. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Experience alone is not enough
84. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Just because someone is junior, doesn’t mean they aren’t an expert
85. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF We don’t work in a vacuum. We don’t work alone. We are people who build things for people.
86. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF We don’t work in a vacuum. We don’t work alone. We are people who build things for people. with
87. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF We do better together.
88. SELF.CONF Liz Abinante! • @feministy labinante@newrelic.com Senior Software Engineer
89. LIZ ABINANTE @feministy SELF.CONF Photos ➡ Space! https://unsplash.com/photos/rTZW4f02zY8 ➡ Books: https://www.pexels.com/photo/books-school-stacked-closed-48126/ ➡ Poster: https://www.pexels.com/photo/office-poster-quote-success-8865/ ➡ Sad pug: https://www.pexels.com/photo/pug-portrait-dog-closeup-47444/ ➡ Debugging: https://www.pexels.com/photo/car-retro-vintage-oldtimer-9014/ ➡ Architecture: https://www.pexels.com/photo/building-london-london-city- skycrappers-34643/ ➡ Libraries: https://www.pexels.com/photo/books-old-book-knowledge- bookstore-34592/ ➡ Emotional lemur: https://www.pexels.com/photo/nature-eyes-grey-fur-33149/ ➡ Approachable pooch: https://www.pexels.com/photo/dog-cute-fur-black-89249/ ➡ Cookies: https://www.pexels.com/photo/cookies-chocolate-chip-sweets-29978/ ➡ Mountain: https://www.pexels.com/photo/sky-mountain-forest-nature-24837/